Six Comforting Things About College Football

• Saturday is an all day affair

The majority of each week's college football schedule falls on Saturday.  On any such Saturday, there may be upwards of 50 games played, staggered from early morning to well past midnight (when you factor in time zones).  If you're tailgating, you may very well have arrived at the stadium several days before, or at least many many hours before kickoff.  If you're watching from home, the games start as early as 8 or 9 a.m. on the West coast (and earlier for fans living in Hawai'i), and end late Sunday morning if you're living in the East.

• Keith Jackson

I'm not sure if he's officially retired or not, but the man was and is a great face for the game.  It's obvious by now that he's nowhere near the top of his game, but it's not all that bothersome when one considers his career and continued domination of wannabe contemporaries.  Like few other broadcasters, Jackson has a memorable, timeless, and beautiful voice.  He's been a loving caretaker for the game, and given his best for God knows how many years.  He's put in his time and remains capable of setting the scene before the game better than anyone else in the business.

• Preseason Magazines

Inevitably I'll sound like a hypocrite in a few months when I shred the collective nonsense that is written in the glossies.  All is forgiven, however, because they're part of most fans' preseason ritual.  They send a message of hope and the inevitability of another great season when they appear on newsstands sometime during the summer.

• Every Game Matters

Have you ever noticed how meaningless regular season NCAA basketball games can be?  That isn't the case for college football, nor should it ever be.  Penn State's miracle comeback against Northwestern last year had a great impact on the 2005 season.  So did Georgia's victory over Boise State.  So did Ohio's win over Pittsburgh.  Every game tells a story, connecting each team in some way.  There are no isolated incidents in college football when the season is so swift and the tension high.  It sends the message that each team is accountable for its own fate, that there are consequences that a tournament bail-out cannot remedy.  I love it!

• Meaningful Rivalries

All sports have their rivalries, but few can match those in college football.  Yeah, Yankees/Red Sox is heated and deeply rooted in history (they sold The Babe!), but ask any Alabama fan what he thinks about Tennessee and you'll know you're on a completely different level when it comes to college football.  Even the more benign rivalries are thrilling.  Who doesn't get a kick out of a psychotic kicker hoisting Paul Bunyan's Axe or Florida State's addiction to Wide Right?  It is because the game has been played so long, and the passions so strong, that we have this great sport to celebrate.

• The Heisman Trophy

Love it or hate it, it's the greatest individual award in all of sport.  Steeped in history, conquered by the average and the almighty, it's a most recongnizeable trophy and adds great prestige to each and every athlete and school lucky enough to be one of it's recipients.